his feral smile widens. “I’ve been waiting for the two of you to approach me all night.”
Alarm bells go off in my head, but I make sure to keep my expression composed. However, Lord Rian’s words seem to have the opposite effect on my best friend. I watch as Alistair’s gaze becomes heated, and he bites his lip before looking up at the much taller male in front of us.
“Our apologies, milord. We would have come to find you much earlier if we’d known you were interested.”
Lord Rian’s eyes flash with wicked delight at Alistair’s boldness. He chuckles deeply and holds his hand out. “Call me Rian, please. What’s your name, little demon?”
“Alistair.”
I nearly groan when my best friend willingly gives his name without a thought and shakes hands with the Unseelie Lord. It’s practically the first rule of dealing with the fae. Don’t give your true name without asking for something in return unless you’re looking to be tricked or bewitched.
I hold my tongue because I’m only a human in the presence of a powerful, immortal creature, and Lord Rian hasn’t addressed me directly. When he turns his gaze on me a moment later, my cheeks flush of their own accord. I’m ridiculously anxious and wondering how the hell we managed to snag his attention. I’ve made sure to keep Alistair by my side all night, and I haven’t let him get into any mischief like he might usually do otherwise.
“Your pet is absolutely divine,” Rian purrs seductively. He brings his hand up and caresses my cheek softly, letting the back of his fingers trail down my jaw and along my collarbone. As nervous as I am, his touch makes me shiver as my skin tingles pleasantly and my nipples harden in arousal.
“Isla is my best friend. Not my pet.” Alistair’s voice hardens slightly, losing all trace of flirtation as he pulls me into his side possessively. He can’t stand hearing other supernaturals refer to me as a pet, and he’s quick to become angry and defensive whenever it happens. It doesn’t bother me nearly as much, but I still appreciate Alistair always standing up for me and insisting I’m his equal.
But god, I wish I could hit him right now. He probably just offended our host, and he gave my fucking name away for free!
Lord Rian blinks, appearing both confused and intrigued. His smile only grows wider though, if possible, and he holds his hand out for me the same way he did for Alistair. “I’m sorry. It was rude of me to make any assumptions. I hope you’ll forgive me, Isla.”
“Of course.” I cautiously place my hand in his. My skin tingles again, and Rian suddenly looks a lot more appealing than he already did. I force a smile onto my face. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lord Rian.”
“Just Rian, if you don’t mind.” He keeps his eyes locked on mine as he brings my hand up to his mouth. He softly brushes his lips over my knuckles, and I shiver in pleasure at the intimacy of the gesture. This guy is good.
“We were just leaving, actually,” I blurt out. I feel breathless, and I’m almost positive he’s using some kind of magic on us right now. The last thing I need is to get swept up in some fae Lord’s mischievous game.
Alistair’s entire body stiffens, and his arm tightens around my waist. At the same moment, Rian’s eyes widen and he looks genuinely alarmed. The fae lord squeezes my hand gently and steps the tiniest bit closer to us.
“Leaving? But it’s still so early! Surely I can convince you to stay?” His voice sounds aloof and almost playful, but there’s something in his expression that makes it seem as though he’s actually panicking at the idea of us leaving.
“Isla hates parties,” Alistair says. I purse my lips when he meets my eyes, and he gives me one of his most charming smiles. “But I’m sure we can stay for just a little while longer?”
It’s true that I’m not the biggest fan of parties, and especially supernatural parties. I don’t mind smaller, more intimate gatherings, but I’d almost always rather stay home reading a book or watching Netflix if I can get away with it. Still, it’s just like Al to paint me as the controlling villain here, even though he literally just agreed to leave early not ten minutes ago. I make a face at him, silently telling him he owes me. In response, Al